A logo of Ant Financial is displayed at the Ant Financial event in Hong
Kong, China November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

SHANGHAI: China's Ant Financial will invest US$200 million
in Kakao Pay, the mobile payment subsidiary of South Korean messaging
platform giant Kakao Corp, extending a major push by the Chinese firm to
create a global network of financial assets.

The two firms said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the
investment was part of a larger strategic partnership to help connect
Ant's 450 million global users with Kakao Pay, which currently has over
14 million members on its platform.

Ant, valued at US$60 billion during a US$4.5 billion fund raising
round last April, has been using its financial firepower to expand at
home and overseas as it prepares for an initial public offering that
could be later this year.
The firm, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba
Group Holding Ltd, announced an US$880 million deal for U.S.
money-transfer firm MoneyGram International last month.
Ant also has investments in Indian mobile payment and e-commerce
website Paytm and Thai financial technology firm Ascend Money. It plans
to expand in the Philippines with a stake in Globe Telecom Inc's fintech
firm Mynt.
"South Korea is an important market for Ant Financial in its global
expansion, and we see many opportunities in the market for innovative
services and growth in mobile payments," said Douglas Feagin, president
of Ant Financial International.
Ant, the world's most valuable online finance company, dominates the
online payments industry in China with its Alipay platform, but has been
facing growing competition from domestic rival Tencent Holdings Ltd's
Wechat Pay.
Ant is currently looking to raise as much as US$3 billion in debt to
fund acquisitions and further foreign investments, a person with direct
knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier this month.
"Ant's ultimate goal is to become a global payments monster - the
biggest, broadest option for consumers," said Ben Cavender,
Shanghai-based principle for China Market Research.
"The challenge is facing strong local players around the world, so
it's cheaper to buy into these companies rather than burning money to
steal market share from them."
Kakao, best known for its online messaging platform Kakao Talk, has
in total over 48 million users. Its Kakao Pay unit is a financial
services platform which offers services such as bill payment and
remittance.
(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Stephen Coates)